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The College Board is defending its approach to Advanced Placement psychology, including teaching about gay issues, to Florida officials.
The Florida Department of Education Office of Articulation has requested that the College Board audit and potentially modify AP courses relative to the new Florida laws that restrict classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The College Board released a letter Thursday that it sent to Florida:
“[College Board] will not modify our courses to accommodate restrictions on teaching essential, college-level topics. Doing so would break the fundamental promise of AP: colleges wouldn’t broadly accept that course for credit and that course wouldn’t prepare students for careers in the discipline. The learning objective within AP Psychology that covers gender and sexual orientation has specifically been raised by some Florida districts relative to these recent regulations. That learning objective must remain a required topic, just as it has been in Florida for many years. As with all AP courses, required topics must be included for a course to be designated as AP.”
The American Psychological Association has defended the College Board.
“Understanding human sexuality is fundamental to psychology, and an Advanced Placement course that excludes the decades of science studying sexual orientation and gender identity would deprive students of knowledge they will need to succeed in their studies, in high school and beyond,” said Arthur C. Evans Jr., the organization’s CEO. “We applaud the College Board for standing up to the state of Florida and its unconscionable demand to censor an educational curriculum and test that were designed by college faculty and experienced AP teachers who ensure that the course and exam reflect the state of the science and college-level expectations.”
